2015–16 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season
# 2015–16 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season

The 2015–16 season was the 117th season of competitive league football in the history of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. The club are competing in the second tier of the English football system, the Football League Championship for a second consecutive year having finished 7th in the previous season following their promotion from League One.

The club ended the campaign in 14th position, one of their lowest finishes during the previous 25 years, having failed to compete for the play-offs. The season saw owner Steve Morgan resign as chairman and place the club up for sale but no sale has to date been concluded. Supporter unrest was strengthened further when Benik Afobe, who ended as the team's leading goalscorer, was sold during the January transfer window to Premier League Bournemouth.

## Competitions

### Football League Championship

A total of 24 teams competed in the Football League Championship in the 2015–16 season. Each team played every other team twice, once at their stadium, and once at the opposition's. Three points were awarded to teams for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats.

The provisional fixture list was released on 17 June 2015, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage or police concerns.

**Results summary**

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

Source: Statto.com

**Results by round**

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | D | L | L | W | L | D | D | W | W | L | L | L | W | L | D | D | D | W | D | L | L | W | W | W | W | L | D | D | D | L | L | L | W | L | W | D | D | D | W | D | L | L | D | D | W |
| Position | 6 | 8 | 11 | 17 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 12 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 60 |
| 13 | Leeds United | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 59 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 53 | 58 | −5 | 58 |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 46 | 46 | 0 | 55 |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 43 | 47 | −4 | 55 |

## Players

### Statistics

Key: ‡ On loan from another club * First appearance(s) for the club

* # = Squad number
* Pos = Playing position
* P = Number of games played
* G = Number of goals scored
* GK = Goalkeeper
* DF = Defender
* MF = Midfielder
* FW = Forward
* = Yellow cards
* = Red cards
* † Permanent player left club during the season
* ¤ Loaned to another club for part or all of season

Correct as of end of season. Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances in parentheses where applicable.

| No. | Pos | Name | P | G | P | G | P | G | P | G | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline | Notes |
| 1 | GK | Carl Ikeme | 32(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Matt Doherty | 27(5) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 31(5) | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Scott Golbourne † | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | MF | Jérémy Hélan ‡ | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | David Edwards | 25(3) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26(3) | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Richard Stearman † | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Mike Williamson ‡ | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Danny Batth | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | James Henry | 32(6) | 7 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 32(9) | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | George Saville ¤ | 16(2) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18(2) | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Nouha Dicko | 4(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Benik Afobe † | 22(2) | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 1 | 23(3) | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Joe Mason | 8(7) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8(7) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Kevin McDonald | 30(1) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32(1) | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Jed Wallace ¤ | 6(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | Aaron McCarey ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Lee Evans ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Tommy Rowe ¤ | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Conor Coady | 31(4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33(4) | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 17 | MF | Rajiv van La Parra ¤ | 10(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 12(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | Dominic Iorfa | 41 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 44(1) | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Jack Price | 21(3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 24(3) | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Sheyi Ojo ‡ | 5(11) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7(12) | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Björn Sigurðarson | 10(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Ethan Ebanks-Landell | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Jordan Graham ¤ | 11 | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Nathan Byrne | 8(14) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8(14) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | Emiliano Martínez ‡ | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | Grant Holt ‡ | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | Michał Żyro | 5(2) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6(2) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | Sylvain Deslandes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Adam Le Fondre ‡ | 10(14) | 3 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 11(17) | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | Kortney Hause | 23(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | Jonathan Flatt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | Bradley Reid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | Connor Hunte | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | FW | Aaron Collins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | MF | Connor Ronan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | FW | Bright Enobakhare | 1(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3(6) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 50 | DF | Aaron Hayden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Awards

| Award | Winner |
| - | - |
| Fans' Player of the Season | Matt Doherty |
| Players' Player of the Season | Matt Doherty |
| Young Player of the Season | Dominic Iorfa |
| Academy Player of the Season | Connor Ronan |
| Goal of the Season | Matt Doherty (vs Fulham, 12 January 2016) |

## Transfers

### Transfers in

| Date | Player | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - |
| 21 May 2015 | Jed Wallace | Portsmouth | £275,000 |
| 10 June 2015 | Sylvain Deslandes | SM Caen | Free |
| 1 July 2015 | Cameron John | Southend United | Free |
| 1 July 2015 | Daniel McKenna | Belvedere | Free |
| 1 July 2015 | Michael Sibley | Nike Academy | Free |
| 3 July 2015 | Conor Coady | Huddersfield Town | £2,000,000 |
| 1 September 2015 | Nathan Byrne | Swindon Town | £1,000,000 |
| 2 January 2016 | Michał Żyro | Legia Warsaw | £350,000 |
| 22 January 2016 | Aaron Collins | Newport County | £75,000 |
| 28 January 2016 | Joe Mason | Cardiff City | £3,000,000 |
| 29 January 2016 | Mike Williamson | Newcastle United | £250,000 |

### Loans in

| Date from | Player | From | Date until |
| - | - | - | - |
| 3 August 2015 | Adam Le Fondre | Cardiff City | End of season |
| 4 August 2015 | Sheyi Ojo | Liverpool | 7 January 2016 |
| 11 August 2015 | Emiliano Martínez | Arsenal | End of season |
| 29 October 2015 | Mike Williamson | Newcastle United | 1 December 2015 |
| 30 October 2015 | Grant Holt | Wigan Athletic | 2 January 2016 |
| 25 February 2016 | Jérémy Hélan | Sheffield Wednesday | 21 April 2016 |

### Transfers out

| Date | Player | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - |
| 6 May 2015 | Kevin Doyle | Colorado Rapids | Free |
| 2 June 2015 | Leon Clarke | Bury | Free |
| 11 June 2015 | George Swan | York City | Free |
| 23 June 2015 | Jake Cassidy | Oldham Athletic | Free |
| 30 June 2015 | Tomasz Kuszczak | Released | Free |
| 30 June 2015 | Sam Ricketts | Released | Free |
| 30 June 2015 | Bakary Sako | Released | Free |
| 1 July 2015 | Ibrahim Keita | Košice | Free |
| 1 July 2015 | Charlie Morris | Boldmere St. Michaels | Free |
| 13 July 2015 | Carlo Erdei | Pandurii | Free |
| 13 July 2015 | Albert Torras | Málaga B | Free |
| 24 July 2015 | Jordi Ortega | Córdoba | Free |
| 27 July 2015 | Michael Jacobs | Wigan Athletic | Undisclosed |
| 4 August 2015 | Georg Margreitter | Released | Free |
| 1 September 2015 | Richard Stearman | Fulham | £2,000,000 |
| 10 January 2016 | Benik Afobe | Bournemouth | £10,000,000 |
| 28 January 2016 | Scott Golbourne | Bristol City | Undisclosed |
| 1 February 2016 | Mekhi Leacock-McLeod | Rangers | Free |
| 27 February 2016 | Jesse Devers | Galway United | Free |

* ↑ Early settlement agreed to allow Doyle to join Colorado Rapids.
* ↑ Kuszczak subsequently joined Birmingham City on 1 July.
* ↑ Ricketts subsequently joined Coventry City on 6 July.
* ↑ Sako subsequently joined Crystal Palace on 5 August.
* ↑ Margreitter subsequently joined FC Nürnberg on 24 August.

### Loans out

| Date from | Player | To | Date until |
| - | - | - | - |
| 9 July 2015 | Liam McAlinden | Shrewsbury Town | 9 January 2016 |
| 29 July 2015 | Zeli Ismail | Burton Albion | 29 January 2016 |
| 6 August 2015 | Aaron Hayden | Newport County | 16 September 2015 |
| 20 August 2015 | Lee Evans | Bradford City | End of season |
| 18 September 2015 | Harry Burgoyne | Lowestoft Town | 23 October 2015 |
| 23 September 2015 | Aaron McCarey | Portsmouth | 23 October 2015 |
| 28 September 2015 | Jordan Graham | Oxford United | 27 October 2015 |
| 2 October 2015 | Tommy Rowe | Scunthorpe United | 29 December 2015 |
| 6 October 2015 | George Saville | Millwall | 6 January 2016 |
| 24 October 2015 | Aaron McCarey | Bury | 28 October 2015 |
| 13 November 2015 | Harry Burgoyne | Corby Town | 13 December 2015 |
| 26 November 2015 | Rajiv van La Parra | Brighton | 2 January 2016 |
| 27 December 2015 | Harry Burgoyne | Telford United | End of season |
| 8 January 2016 | Jed Wallace | Millwall | 16 March 2016 |
| 12 January 2016 | Eusébio Bancessi | Telford United | End of season |
| 1 February 2016 | Zeli Ismail | Oxford United | 28 February 2016 |
| 4 March 2016 | Ashley Carter | Tamworth | End of season |
| 5 March 2016 | Zeli Ismail | Cambridge United | End of season |
| 8 March 2016 | Tendai Matinyadze | Rushall Olympic | End of season |
| 10 March 2016 | Liam McAlinden | Crawley Town | End of season |
| 11 March 2016 | Rajiv van La Parra | Huddersfield | End of season |
| 19 March 2016 | Tommy Rowe | Doncaster Rovers | End of season |
| 24 March 2016 | Ben O'Hanlon | Corby Town | End of season |
